RIP Oderus Urungus

There are no words to describe how I feel right now.  Gutted and empty are good ways to start.  I've been a GWAR fan since I was 15.  I'm 30 now so I've literally been a GWAR fan for half my life.  You can imagine how I felt when I woke up this morning and saw that GWAR frontman Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) had passed away.  At first I thought it was some sort of sick joke.  An early April Fools joke maybe.  But, it was no joke.  Dave Brockie is dead and the world is a duller place because of it.  I know I'll never fully be able to describe how I'm feeling and what Dave and GWAR means to me, but I'll give it a shot.

Since 1999, I've seen GWAR countless times.  My first experience was seeing them play on Devil's Night at Harpo's in Detroit with the Misfits.  I loved everything about their stage show; the latex, the dead bodies, and of course, the buckets of fake blood.  You'll see more fake blood and dead bodies at a GWAR show then you will in 10 b-movies.  But if you take away the costumes and the blood and the creatures, you're left with five guys who play really good music!  And leading the charge, was Dave.  The records he's left behind will always be some of my most cherished and beloved.  Sure they're juvenile and immature, but so I am.  Maybe that's why I connected so well with GWAR.  The music is heavy and immature.  Honestly, the perfect band!

Dave Brockie shaped me into the man I am today.  Some may say that's a bad thing, others will argue I'm more entertaining because of it.  Either way, my world was better because of him.  I was obsessed with GWAR at 16, and I'll still be obsessed with them at 60, and it's because of Dave Brockie.

Over the course of 30 years, Oderus would battle the Morality Squad, Skulhedface, Gor-Gor, Techno Destruco, Cardinal Syn, the Master, and he won every battle.  Who would have thought the battle Maximus would be his last.  Even though Dave has left us, Oderus hasn't.  He just went home, sword unsheathed ready for his next battle.

So fear not fellow bohabs.  Oderus may have gone home, but the memory of Dave Brockie will live on.  One day Dave and I will meet again, on the road behind.

**I had the pleasure of speaking with Dave in the fall of 2013.  The audio can be found below, but I warn you, he swears, a lot.**